A Maelstrom's Redemption
by Darkness1080
Summary: Naruto, at age 15, is left with no memory of his life before that point. The Capital Wasteland is a tough place and no one takes him in. When he is about to lose hope, the Enclave take him in. Now, he sees the Enclave for what they truly are. With the escape of the Lone Wanderer, he is given a chance to redeem himself. Naruto x Fem Lone Wanderer x other Fallout girls.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello again my faithful readers. It's me again, here with another new story. I was browsing fics to read when I stumbled upon a Naruto/Fallout crossover. Now, I am a HUGE Fallout fan so this crossover is something that I just had to write. I hope that you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fallout or Naruto. I do however own Fallout 1,2,3, and New Vegas along with volumes 1-65 of the Naruto manga.**

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><p>War, war never changes. Since our ancestors discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything from God, to justice, to simple psychotic rage. In the year 2077, after a millenia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation. But it was not,as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world but war, war never changes.<p>

In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters known as vaults. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them. Eventually, the survivors started forming organizations. The first was the Brotherhood of Steel, an organization whose objective was to gather the technology of the old world to keep it for themselves. Next came the Enclave, an organization descended directly from the pre-war United States government. The Enclave prides itself in being the last bastion of pure, unmutated humanity other than the vaults left unopened along with being the most technologically advanced organization in the wastes, even more than the Brotherhood of Steel.

The organization itself is not our main focus though. No, our focus is on a young member of the Enclave, one Uzumaki Naruto. Not much is known of his past, not even to himself. He is an enigma, a puzzle that many have tried to figure out but have failed to do it. Currently, we find him inside the main Enclave base, a large underground bunker known as Raven Rock. This is where our story begins...

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><p>Uzumaki Naruto sighed to himself as he patrolled the base that had been his home for the last 10 years of his life. He was a mountain of a man, standing at 6'7. For clothes, he wore a set of Tesla armor with a simple t-shirt and cargo pants underneath. He had a standard issue plasma rifle strapped to his back along with a katana strapped to his hip. His face was hidden by his helmet which no one had ever seen him take off. The plates of his armor clanked as he walked, which he ignored in favor of his thoughts.<p>

_'Sometimes, I wonder if I even belong here. This place is starting to become too much for me. The Enclave I have grown to love has become corrupted and evil.' _He thought bitterly as he turned a corner. Naruto's inner monologue was cut off when he heard the alarm for escaped prisoners sound. He knew which one had escaped, the one from vault 101. Apparently, they had captured her in vault 87, shortly after retrieving the Garden Of Eden Creation Kit. He inwardly debated on what he should do.

'_Should I help them recapture her? Should I assist her? If I recapture her, I could be dooming the wasteland. That bastard Autumn would use her to achieve his definition of peace but at the same time, I won't have to worry about being declared AWOL and being hunted down. If I help her, I would be helping the wasteland but I would be dooming myself to being hunted.' _He thought as he sprinted through the bunker searching for the escaped prisoner.

Eventually he reached a large open room with two sets of laser turrets at the end along with at least 10 soldiers clad in standard power armor. He also saw the woman whom he had been searching for.

She was of average height, standing at about 5'7 with dirty blond hair tied in a short ponytail. She had a heart-shaped face and bright blue eyes. She wore a full suit of dark green combat armor, helmet and all, and had a hunting rifle strapped to her back. The woman was currently hiding behind a large box, cursing her situation as she leaned her head around the corner. Naruto by now had made his decision. He was going to make sure she got out of here, even at the cost of his life.

Naruto walked up to her and kneeled in front of her. The woman, turning back around, nearly screamed in surprise when she saw Naruto in front of her. She grabbed her hunting rifle from its position on her back and was about to fire until Naruto spoke in a hushed tone.

"Stop! I'm here to help you!" He said with his voice having an added speaker effect due to the helmet. The woman did not relax her hold on her weapon, obviously not believing him. Seeing this, he frowned, although she couldn't see it.

"Look, I grow tired of this place. It is not my home anymore. I simply wish to leave and help the people of the wasteland." He spoke. The woman was still tense but nodded a bit uneasily.

"Alright. So, how are we going to get past these guards?" She asked. Naruto merely grabbed the lid of the box and pulled it off before silently setting it down beside them. He then reached in and pulled out a pulse grenade. He pulled the pin and counted to three in his head before throwing it into the middle of the guards. The men didn't have time to react before it exploded in a massive electric discharge. The turrets were instantly disabled by the EMP blast while the soldier's armor was locking up. The servo-motors that allowed them to move while in the armor stopped functioning, causing them to collapse.

Naruto, seeing the damage, smirked behind his helmet before he motioned to the woman beside him. She nodded before they moved forward. They fought their way through various waves of them with Naruto swiftly dispatching any opposition in the way of their escape with his plasma rifle. He also used his katana which somehow managed to cut through the power armor and the turrets like they were butter. His partner proved to be very effective with her hunting rifle, with her taking out a large number of soldiers due to her sharpshooting skills.

Eventually they managed to make it to the exit of the bunker. They both breathed a sigh of relief before exiting. Bright sunlight bombarded them as they shielded their eyes from the blinding light compared to the darkness of Raven Rock. As soon as they had stepped outside, they heard the sound of explosions. They ran a good distance from Raven Rock and watched as it was destroyed. The moment was bittersweet for Naruto. He knew that he was doing the right thing but his home of ten years, the only place to have taken him in from the desolate wasteland when he couldn't even remember who he was had been destroyed right before his eyes.

His partner, sensing his turmoil, stayed silent as she gazed at the now devastated crater where Raven Rock used to be. After about a minute, Naruto had collected himself.

"So, do you still not trust me?" He asked once they had started walking again. The woman beside him took a moment to think before answering.

"Yes, mostly. After all, you did just save my ass from a hopeless situation. Thank you, by the way." She said gratefully.

"You're welcome. You know, I never got your name." He said inquisitively.

"I didn't get yours either. After all, we couldn't exactly introduce ourselves when we were getting shot at and nearly melted/disintegrated." She remarked, causing Naruto to laugh.

"Well, My name is Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." He said with his hand outstretched. His partner smiled before grabbing his armored hand and shaking it.

"The name's Athena. I don't know my last name." She said after the handshake had ended.

"Well Athena, we should get going. The less time we spend in the middle of nowhere, the better." He said, receiving a nod from her. They then started walking again, only to stop when they saw a super mutant running up to them. Naruto's left hand twitched as he reached for his sword, only for Athena to stop him.

"Wait. I know this mutant. Is that you Fawkes?" She asked when he had caught up with them.

"Yes, it is I. I expected to see you outside of Raven Rock but I didn't see you exit. I was discouraged and so I walked off. Me finding you was pure luck." The mutant spoke. Naruto was surprised. He had never seen a super mutant capable of reasoning, much less one that was able to communicate. This one also seemed to be more pacifistic compared to his brethren who attacked almost everything whenever something wandered into their territory.

"Athena, who is this and how did you meet him?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity. It was then that Fawkes noticed the other person beside his new friend. He immediately grabbed her and placed her behind him while glaring at Naruto, thinking that he was hostile based on his Enclave armor.

"Fawkes, stop." Athena said with her hand on his massive arm. Fawkes looked at her in confusion.

"But Athena, this man is part of the Enclave! The very organisation that just had you captive! Why are you sticking up for him!?" He yelled.

"Listen to me Fawkes. This man is the only reason for me still being alive. I was trapped in Raven Rock when he saved me. He helped me out of that hell hole. I owe him my life." She said, making the peaceful super mutant relax.

"Yes, I mean her no harm. You see, I grew tired of the Enclave. When I first enlisted, I thought that they were here to assist the wasteland. As time went on, I saw them for what they truly are. When I heard that Athena here had escaped from captivity, I made a decision. I abandoned the Enclave for the betterment of the wastes." Naruto spoke. As for Fawkes and Athena, they felt their respect for him rise a few notches. It took guts to abandon an organization like the Enclave, an organization that held even more power than the Brotherhood of Steel.

"Very well. Understand though that if you hurt her I will not hesitate to rip you limb from limb." Fawkes warned. Naruto nodded.

"I understand. Now, Athena. You never answered my question. How did you meet Fawkes?" He asked again.

"Well, as you know, before I was abducted by the Enclave, I was in vault 87 searching for the GECK." She started with Naruto nodding, already knowing that. "Well-" She said before Fawkes cut her off.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I tell him this part?" Fawkes asked with Athena shrugging. "Alright. Well, I was originally a normal human being, similar to you. I was born into vault 87. Now, what most people don't know about the vaults is that most of them have some sort of experiment being conducted in them. Vault 87 had massive stores of the FEV virus. The overseer was ordered by Vault tec to expose people to the virus, which he did. This is where super mutants were born from. Over time, they kept exposing people to the virus. I was one of those people. I was forcefully exposed to the FEV. That is why I am like this. Anyway, unlike the others, I maintained my intelligence. After the mutation, I was locked in a room with no way out. For a while, I only had a terminal which I used to keep me sane. However, the people overseeing the experiment cut it off. From then on, I was forced to stay in the room, even as the inhabitants of the vault killed each other. I was almost to the point of insanity when Athena came along. I pleaded with her to let me out and I am eternally grateful to her for how much she has helped me." Fawkes finished. Naruto was saddened by the story but now respected Fawkes for his resilience. Athena merely listened and felt a few tears in her eyes as Fawkes told his story. She then wiped them away and spoke.

"We better get going. It's getting late and we need to get to Megaton before it gets too late." She said, receiving nods from her two companions. The walk to Megaton was spent in comfortable silence.

Finally after what seemed like days, they arrived at Megaton. They walked in with the residents gazing at them in a little fear. They had never seen a super mutant up close and personal before and were on edge. Athena ignored them in favor of heading towards her home. Naruto was silent and followed along, taking in the details of the city.

Eventually they arrived at Athena's home which she had received for disarming the bomb in the middle of town. The blonde pulled out her keys and unlocked the door before heading inside with Naruto and Fawkes following. Fawkes had to duck under the door frame in order to get in.

"Home sweet home." Athena said as she kicked off her combat boots. She then sat on the couch with Naruto sitting beside her and Fawkes sitting on the floor across from them.

"So, Athena." He started, getting the blonde's attention.

"Yes? What is it Naruto?" She asked curiously.

"I bet you've been wondering what I look like right?" He asked, receiving a nod. She had wondered that but didn't ask him about it. "Well, I haven't shown anyone my face in years. I hope you find it to your liking." He finished before grabbing his helmet and giving it a sharp tug. With a whoosh of air, the helmet was removed. What Athena saw made her cheeks flare red.

Naruto had a wild mane of shoulder length crimson hair and violet colored eyes. His face was angular and the whisker marks on his cheeks along with his longer than average canines gave him a feral look.

"So? What do you think?" He asked with a grin after seeing her blush.

"I-It's f-fine." She said with a stutter before regaining control of herself. "Well, I'm really tired so I'm going to bed." She said before walking up the stairs and into her bedroom. Naruto yawned and took off his armor before storing it in one corner of the room. He laid down on the couch and drifted off to dream world with his last thoughts being about his new companions.

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><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think? This entire chapter was typed out in about an hour and a half. The beginning was a little rough, at least in my opinion, but it gets better as it goes on. Bear in mind that my knowledge is a little rusty of Fallout 3 so tell me if I got anything wrong. This fic will be updated about once every two to three weeks so I can update my other two fics. In the future, I will be going into his past exploits in the Enclave along with why he has lost his memory of his first fifteen years. Naruto is 25 by the way.**

**As ****always, be sure to leave a review telling me what you like and dislike about this fic.**

**PS: I named the female lone wanderer after my character.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again my faithful readers. I'm sorry that I took so long to update this fic. I've been playing Fallout 3 and New Vegas to get myself familiarized with the characters again. That has been taking up the majority of my time recently. What, did you think I was doing school work? Never. Also, I've been thinking of branching out and writing Naruto crossovers with other anime like Soul Eater and Fairy Tail. The only problem with that is the fact that so many people write crossovers for them. You see, I like for my stories to be original, something that nobody has written before. With crossovers as popular as those, it's going to be pretty difficult to come up with original ideas. Anyway, it's time for chapter two to begin!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Fallout or Naruto. Wait, you know what? Fuck it, I OWN BOTH OF THEM! COME AT ME LAWYERS!**

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><p>The next morning, the first person in the house to wake up was Naruto. The redhead sat up, spotting Athena's Vault Tec clock on the wall. Instead of the normal minute and hour hands, this clock had a large image of the Vault Boy, Vault Tec's mascot. The clock read 4:45 AM, which surprised him a bit. Yawning, he stood up from Athena's rather uncomfortable couch. He then walked outside, making sure to be careful of Fawkes's sleeping form.<p>

He shivered as the door closed behind him. It was the middle of November, so the morning air was frigid. He ignored the cold and leaned against the metal railing before pulling a pack of cigarettes from his left pocket. Naruto had picked up the habit of smoking not long after he had joined the Enclave as a way to calm his nerves. He breathed a sigh of content feeling the nicotine enter his system. He stayed there for a while, at least an hour and a half, merely observing the town before he heard a door closing behind him.

Gazing over his shoulder, he noticed that it was Athena, who was much better dressed for the cold than he was. Noticing him, she approached him, leaning on the railing beside him. After about ten minutes of rather awkward silence, Athena spoke up.

"Hey, Naruto? What was it like being in the Enclave?" She asked. She had been wondering about it fo a while, and had decided to ask him. The man next to her released a heavy, weary sigh and answered.

"At first, It was amazing. They seemed to be people that cared about the general population. As time went on, however, and I rose through the ranks, I found out more and more about their true colors. The Enclave makes people believe that they want to rebuild the old world, a noble goal indeed. In reality, they only look after themselves. You already know of their plans to infect Project Purity with the FEV virus, the same damned virus that turned Fawkes into what he is today. You also know the man behind it all, Augustus Autumn." Hearing that man's name, Athena let loose a low growl. Noticing this, Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Did something happen between you two?" He asked curiously.

"That bastard murdered my father when they took Project Purity. I was forced to watch helplessly as my father died in front of me. The worst part about it is that his sacrifice was in vain." Athena explained, her tone sounding more venomous with every word. Naruto winced a bit, knowing that he had a part in the capture of Project Purity, something he was not proud of.

"What's your relationship with him?" The blonde woman questioned.

"Our relationship is... complicated." Naruto said, unsure of how exactly to describe their relationship.

"Care to elaborate?" Athena prodded, hoping for more information.

"Ten years ago, when I was fifteen, I lost my memory completely of my life until then. I wandered the wastes, searching for a place to take me in. Autumn found me when I was dehydrated and dying, offering me food, shelter, and training. There was no way I could refuse." Naruto elaborated with a bit of nostalgia.

_**Flashback: 10 years before, year 2267.**_

The much younger form of Naruto could currently be seen lying in a ditch not far from the town of Canterbury Commons. His clothes were little more than rags, dirty and tattered, barely managing to cover his form. He had been wandering around, searching for a place where he could stay. It didn't help that he was in desperate need of water. He had tried to drink the water from the Potomac, but only threw it back up.

He knew that he wouldn't live much longer if he didn't get water. His condition had been slowly deteriorating to the point where he could feel his body shutting down.

'_Is this it? Is this how I am going to die? Lying in a ditch, my body slowly giving out on me? Not exactly how I envisioned myself going out.' _He thought to himself, chuckling bitterly out loud. His laughter was cut off when he began to cough, violently hacking up blood and mucus. Once his coughing fit was over, he slumped back down, resigning to his fate. As his vision went black, he saw a vertibird landing in front of him, with three men stepping out.

"Grab him and load him onto the vertibird! Make sure to give him water, we need him alive!" The man in the middle barked, the other two quickly obeying. The man carried an air of authority around him, one that commanded respect from any and all. He wore a long white and brown trench coat which reached his knees. Under it,he wore standard military issue pants along with a black undershirt. The other two men wore advanced power armor with laser rifles strapped to their backs. They lifted the now unconscious redhead onto the aircraft, the other man trailing behind them with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

When Naruto awoke, he immediately winced at the bright lighting of the room he was in. After his eyes had adjusted a bit, he gazed around, hoping to find somebody to ask about where he was. The room he was in looked like a standard hospital room. The walls were a dull white which matched the tiles of the floor. The walls were bare, and there was a single desk with a terminal on it to his right.

As he finished observing the room, he heard the door opening. The redhead immediately focused his attention on the man who stepped through, who happened to be the man from before.

"Who are you? Where am I?" He demanded. The man merely seemed amused, an unnerving smile etched onto his face.

"Well, allow me to enlighten you young man. My name is Augustus Autumn, and you are in Raven Rock." The man drawled. Naruto merely raised an eyebrow, having never heard of the man or Raven Rock before. Seeing his confused expression, Autumn spoke again.

"Allow me to elaborate. You are currently inside of the largest Enclave base in the DC area, other than Adams Air Force Base. I am the second in command of this fine organization, only surpassed by President Eden himself." He boasted proudly.

'_Oh great, another guy with a stick up his ass. His demeanor is also rather... unnerving.' _He thought with a slight shudder. In his mind, he saw images of a man that he had never seen before. The man himself was much worse than the one in front of him. His skin was extremely pale, almost white. The man's amber snakelike eyes reflected insanity and blood lust. Shaking off the images with some difficulty, he noticed that Autumn was starting to get impatient.

"Why have you taken me here?" He questioned. The man seemed to be a very important person, so it made very little sense that he would even bother with a random dying teenager. Naruto was no doubt extremely grateful, but he was also suspicious.

"Because you, my boy, are special. You may not know why right now, but you will in the future. Anyway, I need to ask you something very important. Would you like to join the Enclave?" Autumn asked.

"Why would I join you?" Naruto asked. In truth, he was rather caught off guard by the sudden offer.

"Other than the fact that we saved your life? Here we have clean water, food, and shelter. We can also offer you training. All you have to do is accept." Autumn replied. Naruto took a moment to think it over. For as long as he could remember, which was not very long, his life had been hell. The wasteland was not exactly a hospitable place, what with its super mutants, raiders, and mutated monstrosities. Add that onto the fact that he was not exactly experienced in fighting, he barely managed to get by. As he continued to ponder, the offer started to look better and better.

"Before I make a decision, I need to know more about the Enclave." He requested. After all, he couldn't just join an organization that he knew nothing about, no matter how grateful he was to them.

"This organization has its roots in the pre-war American government. Our current president is John Henry Eden, who you will most likely be meeting in the near future. We are the one of the last pure bastions of humanity, other than the vaults that are unopened. Our mission is to rebuild the Wasteland and restore America to its former glory. It is a daunting task, one that will most likely not be accomplished for hundreds of years, but we will accomplish this goal. Currently, we are attempting to rid this land of mutants such as ghouls. That is all that I can tell you." The man explained. Naruto was a bit put off by the fact that he was a bigot against ghouls. He had met a few, and really didn't mind them that much. They were just people who had been exposed to ungodly amounts of radiation, and were just trying to live their lives.

"I... I accept." He said after a short while. Autumn seemed to be very pleased judging from the wide smirk that now adorned his face.

"Excellent. For now, you may rest here in the infirmary. In two days, we will begin your training. Welcome to the Enclave, Uzumaki Naruto." The colonel said before walking out the door, leaving Naruto alone in the room. The redhead wanted to ask Autumn how he knew his name, but was unable to. He settled back into the hospital bed and slowly dozed off.

**Flashback end.**

Naruto snapped back to reality and looked at the spot where Athena had been standing, seeing that she had gone back inside. He sighed and threw away the cigarette he had been smoking before heading back into her house. When he entered, he noticed that Fawkes was awake. He was sitting in the same spot that he had occupied the night before. He grabbed his armor from the corner where he had stashed it before slipping it on, helmet and all.

He quietly sighed to himself feeling the familiar weight. In reality, he actually hated wearing power armor. He knew that the armor offered great protection from all kinds of damage, but he hated how bulky and heavy it was. That was why he chose Tesla armor, which was lighter than the normal Enclave power armor, even if the difference wasn't that large. Unfortunately for him, all Enclave soldiers had to wear some sort of power armor.

Shaking his head clear, he noticed Athena descending the staircase with her armor on and her rifle securely on her back. She briefly greeted her robot butler, a Mr. Handy that she had named Wadsworth before focusing her attention on Naruto and Fawkes.

"Come on, let's get going." She said, receiving nods before they exited the house. Athena locked the door behind her, knowing that leaving her door unlocked, even in a town like Megaton, was a very bad idea. As soon as they had exited the town, Athena picked up a signal on her Pip-Boy. Gazing down at it curiously, she was alarmed when she saw that it was an Emergency Frequency signal from Vault 101, her home. She immediately tuned in, with her companions gazing over her shoulder at the device. Athena paid them no mind and let the message play.

"This is an automated distress message from Vault-Tec Vault 101. Message begins." An automated voice started.

"It feels like you left home a long time ago but... I know you're still out there. I hope you're still alive to hear this." To Athena, the voice of the speaker sounded very familiar, though she could not quite tell who it was. "Things got worse after you left. My father has gone mad with power! If you can hear this, please stop looking for your dad and help stop mine. I changed the door password to my name. If you're hearing this, and if you still care enough to help me, you should remember it." The message ended there before repeating.

'_That voice... it's Amata. It has to be. What the hell happened after I left? I guess it's time to find out.' _She pondered.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked once she switched the device on her wrist off.

"That was a message from Vault 101. I shouldn't have to explain it to either of you, since you both know I was raised there. Apparently everything went to hell after I left. It looks like we're taking a detour. I have to help them." Athena explained.

"Well, come on. Lead the way." Naruto said, gesturing for her to lead them.

The Vault was actually very close to Megaton, so it took less than ten minutes to arrive. They entered through an old wooden door and saw the massive Vault door in front of them, the number 101 emblazoned on it. Athena immediately went to the panel which controlled the door before entering the password. The giant door creaked a bit before fully opening with a mighty groan. The group of three entered, spotting a few radroaches in the room. Ignoring the pests, Athena opened the door and was greeted by a man dressed in Vault security armor. The man himself looked as if he had seen better days, judging by the large bags under his eyes.

"Stop right there! I don't know how you got in here, but... hold on. Wait a minute! It's you! I hardly recognized you with all the dust and grime from out there. Guess that explains how you got that door open. You've got more experience with it than most everyone here combined." The guard remarked. Athena recognized the man as Officer Gomez, the father of Freddy Gomez.

"I need to talk with Amata. I got her message." The blond told him, her tone urgent.

"Amata's message? I don't know what you're talking about, but I'd keep that under your hat, for her sake. She could get in real trouble if people found out she sent you a message. Then again, so could I, just for talking with you now."

"What sort of trouble do you mean?"

"Let me bring you up to speed. It seems like it's been a mighty long time. The night you and your dad left, everything went crazy. Between the bugs and the confusion, we lost a lot of people. When your dad opened up that door, he let loose a whole lot of crap, if you'll pardon my language." The guard explained.

"Dad would be horrified to know all that... if he were still alive."

"I'm... I'm sorry to hear that. Regardless of how things turned out down here, he was a good friend. I always figured he'd do well outside. Matter of fact, a lot of folks started thinking he had the right idea, which he usually did. So if it was safe out there, why stay down here forever? Well, the Overseer didn't like that one bit, and started cracking down on that sort of thought. Guess he didn't plan on you coming back." Naruto, who had remained silent, snorted in amusement at the fact that they would even think of leaving the safety of a Vault for the hell that was the wasteland.

"So what now?" Athena questioned. Truthfully, she wanted to turn back around and leave the vault forever. Hearing about all of the problems caused by her and her father made her feel overwhelmed. Shaking her head, she cursed herself for ever thinking about doing that. She couldn't let Amata down. If she did, she would never forgive herself.

"I probably ought to put you under arrest and take you in to the Overseer, but frankly, I know better than to try that. Meanwhile, some of your old friends think opening the Vault is a good idea. I bet those rebels would like a word with you. Now, more than ever. Of course, if you want, you can just walk away as if you were never here. Out of respect for your dad, I won't even tell anyone I saw you. If you wish to help, be careful down there. The Vault has changed. Also, if you want to speak with the rebels, they're set up in the living quarters, near the classroom." The officer then walked away, deeper into the Vault.

"We should talk to the rebels. They need to know that staying in the Vault is their best option right now." Naruto suggested. Athena nodded, knowing that they would never make it out in the wastes. The group walked through the same door that the guard had went through, which led them to the main atrium of the Vault. As soon as they entered, they saw another Vault officer arguing with a teenager in a leather jacket.

"Come on, let me through!" The young man shouted, waving around his switchblade in an attempt to intimidate the guard.

"You know I can't do that Freddy! Now get back down below, before I do something we'll both regret!" The guard replied, shakily aiming his 10mm pistol towards the teen before firing at his feet, scaring him away.

'_Wow, things really have gone to hell here.'_ Athena thought as Freddy ran off. Ignoring the guard, they stepped through the same door that Freddy had left through, which led them down a flight of stairs and into the dining room. Athena recognized a few people in the room. The first was the mother of Butch, who she had saved from getting killed by radroaches before she left. The second was the handyman of the Vault, Stanley, who kept everything going. Ignoring them, they headed up a flight of stairs and were greeted by a young man with the same leather jacket that the rebel from earlier had on. His hair was in the classic greaser haircut, and he was brandishing a switchblade at them._  
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"Damn, look who's come waltzing back into the Vault? It takes some real balls coming back here after everything you and your dad screwed up. But if you've gotta be back, might as well make yourself useful. You gotta help us." Athena immediately recognized him as Butch Deloria, her childhood bully.

"Help? What kind of help?" Athena asked, causing Butch to look at her like she was stupid.

"What sort of help do you think I mean!? You must have heard about the changes since you left. right? The deaths, the lies, the whole Overseer lockdown thing? Ringing any bells? Man, they'd have rushed in here long ago if they didn't know I stole one of their guns from when they issued martial law! Anyway, you gotta help us get out of here. You've gotta help me get out of here!"

"Foolish. Do you really think that what's out there is better than a safe Vault?" Naruto interjected. Butch looked at him with a bit of fear, as he was a rather intimidating figure.

"Who asked you? This isn't your business asshole!" The greaser growled, trying and failing to seem intimidating. Naruto merely laughed at him, which infuriated Butch. Ignoring the logical part of his brain which told him to stop, he charged at the much taller redhead, intending to stab him.

Naruto knew that the tiny blade would do nothing to his armor, but he still didn't want it to get scratched. When Butch was about to stab him, he simply backhanded him with enough force to send him into the wall, knocking him out.

"Was that really necessary?" Athena asked as she gazed at the bleeding form of Butch.

"Not really, but he needed to be taught a lesson. Hopefully, he learned something. Anyway, shouldn't we be looking for your friend?" Naruto asked. Athena shook her head and led them into a large open room which had many beds lining the walls. In the center of the room was Amata, who recognized Athena as soon as they walked in.

"Oh my God, you're back! You got my message and actually came back!" She squealed in utter joy. Athena merely grinned at her friend.

"I came as soon as I heard you were in trouble." The blonde told her. Naruto and Fawkes stayed in the back and were having their own conversation.

"Hey, Fawkes? How come almost no one here has noticed either of us even though you're nine feet tall and I'm wearing flashy power armor?" Naruto asked the gentle mutant.

"Video game logic. People only notice the main character, even though she's got a super mutant and a former Enclave soldier with her." Fawkes said with a shrug.

"Video game? Main character? You're not making any sense Fawkes." Naruto said, extremely confused. Fawkes remained silent, which made Naruto a bit peeved, but he shook it off.

"Oh, thank you! Everything's gone crazy since you left, and now that you're back, you can help set things straight!" Amata exclaimed. Neither her nor Athena had noticed the other conversation.

"You saved my life back then, Amata. The least I can do is help out now." Athena replied. Amata's happy face grew solemn.

"I just wish we could have saved more people. Jonas, the Hannons, and so many other people died that night. It was bad enough they died because my father was trying to keep the door closed, but then I found out that it was all to protect a lie! I found out, the Vault wasn't always closed! They've lied to us about it for our entire lives!" She said angrily at being lied to. Athena already knew that information from the logs she found on the Overseer's terminal, but acted as if she was surprised, which Amata didn't seem to notice.

"What? How did you find that out?"

"After that night, I heard Wally's father say we should have never taken you or your dad into the Vault. I found out the Vault used to be open, but for some reason, they closed it off when we were babies and swore to hide that it had ever happened. But keeping that lie meant Jonas's death. And even though we know the truth, the Overseer still won't let us make our own decisions!" Amata refused to refer to the Overseer as her father due to her disgust over his actions.

"Sounds like he's gone crazy with power and needs to be stopped." Athena pointed out, with Amata nodding in agreement.

"You're absolutely right. It's not like we want to abandon the Vault or anything! Well, Butch does, but he's too big of a coward to go out on his own. Most of us had accepted the outside was certain death and things would always stay the same down here. But now we know they don't have to be! After all, it was enough to get you and your dad to leave, so there must be something good out there."

"Why don't you just leave the Vault? There isn't that much security." Athena questioned.

"Don't you get it? We don't want to abandon the Vault. We want to open it! We still want this to be our home, but we want to get supplies from outside. Trading, exploring, anything's better than just hiding down here!" Naruto could understand where she was coming from. The Vault was bound to run out of food and water sometime, even if Vault 101 was designed to be self-sustained. He just disagreed about the exploring part. They weren't ready for the wasteland yet, and he didn't want their deaths to be on his conscience.

"What happened that night?" Athena asked. She already knew from what the guard had told her, but she wanted Amata to tell her about it from her perspective.

"The real problems came after you two left. The injured had nobody to turn to, since our doctor had run off, and his assistant had died. Now we've got to rely on that old Mr. Handy for most of our medical needs. And he hasn't exactly got the best bedside manner. Ever had an examination from someone with cold metal pincers? You don't want to!" Amata said with a slight shudder. It was then that they noticed the blood spattered window in the very back of the room. With the amount of blood, you could barely make out some of the room, along with a Mr. Handy that Athena recognized.

'_Wait, is that Andy? They must have really been desperate to use him as a doctor. And what's with all the blood?' _The blond thought to herself. She made a mental note to check it out.

"Why is the overseer doing this?" Sure he had always been overbearing, but he had never done anything like this before.

"I just don't know. Maybe he thinks he's protecting us, but all he's really doing is condemning us. I thought parents were supposed to want a better world for their children? Well, there's a new world waiting right outside that door. And we're not going to give up until we can reach it."

"I think I have a solution for the Vault's problems." Athena said after taking a moment to think.

"I certainly hope so. We can't just keep going on like this."

"I swear, I'll stop your father and his guards, just watch." Athena said with conviction. Naruto sighed. It seemed like his companion had already made up her mind. Despite the fact that he felt they should stay in the Vault, he would honor her decision. After all, it was her home, so it was her right to decide what would happen to it.

"You will? Thank goodness for that. No matter what I say, he just doesn't listen. He just spends all day up in his office. But you've actually been outside, so you can tell him what it's like with firsthand experience! Just... please don't do anything rash or hurt him, alright?" Even though he had made some terrible decisions, he was still her father.

"You know violence isn't my style, Amata. Don't worry." Athen said with her hand on her shoulder.

"I should have remembered. I was just worried, I don't know, maybe your time outside had changed you. Thanks, and good luck talking to him. Let me know when you change his mind!" With that, Amata resumed what she had been doing. Athena immediately approached the room in the back and opened the door. What she saw shocked her.

The Mr. Handy, Andy, was hovering in the far corner in the room, his bottom half along with his saw absolutely covered in blood, which seemed to be fresh. It didn't take long to figure out where it was from. On a makeshift hospital bed next to her laid Beatrice, her entire left leg missing. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had died from blood loss.

Ignoring the bloody scene, Naruto focused on a framed passage which was on the wall near the desk.

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." He read aloud. "Hey Athena, do you recognize this?" He asked.

"Oh, that? That was my mother's favorite verse from the Bible, Revelation 21:6. It was her inspiration for Project Purity." She explained with a bit of nostalgia. It was then that Naruto noticed something different about the passage. He removed it from the wall and saw that there was a small safe behind it. Pulling out a bobby pin and a screwdriver, he picked the lock without too much difficulty.

Hearing the click of the safe unlocking, he opened it and found schematics for a weapon called a Rock-It Launcher along with a holotape labeled "Home Sweet Home". Pocketing the schematics, he handed the holotape to Athena, who stored it away. She figured that it was a recording her father had left, seeing that it was in his former office. When they found nothing else interesting in the room, they decided to see the Overseer.

It didn't take long for them to reach the upper level where the Overseer's office was located. Before they could enter, they were stopped by a Vault security guard.

"You never should have left the Vault. Now, I'm going to make sure no one ever leaves the Vault again!" The man screamed. Without warning, he pulled out his 10mm pistol and started to fire. Naruto merely unsheathed his katana, swung once horizontally, and sheathed it again.

"Hitotsume: Nadegiri." He intoned. As soon as the click of the sword being sheathed was heard, the security guard's head was removed from his shoulders, with his lifeless body collapsing onto the floor.

"Ok, how the hell did you just do that!?"Athena demanded. Fawkes didn't show it, but he too was extremely curious.

"Training." The redhead replied simply. His companion felt the strange urge to topple to the floor, but settled for rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Whatever. We need to keep moving anyway. Come on, the Overseer's office is just around the corner." Athena said, exasperated.

They did not stop to knock on the door to the Overseer's office, instead choosing to barge in, startling him a bit.

"Well, I see you've returned." He greeted, his voice full of disgust and his face twisted into a sneer. "Done with the dust and ruins of the wasteland are you? Given up looking for daddy? Thought you could just slink back in, like a teenager missing curfew? Well that's too bad. You have no future in this Vault. You're tainted."

"With your leadership, no one in this Vault has much of a future." Athena said with an equal amount of disgust and hatred.

"That would be where you're wrong, young lady. By locking down this Vault, I'm protecting its future. In fact, I was protecting its future when I had to make those unpleasant choices the night you and your father abandoned us. I only wish I could have stopped your father before he left. If anyone's to blame for the unpleasantness, it's him." Athena was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check. The way he spoke of her father made her want to kill him there and then, but she remembered that the entire Vault was depending on her.

"Don't try to justify your murders and lies. They were never threats!"

"Spoken like someone who's never had to make difficult decisions. Like someone who's never had to lead. Jonas was leaving with your father. Their departure would lead to others leaving as well. And before you know it, half of the Vault would be gone. And then our home - the last safe, pure bastion of humanity - would be reduced to a lonely handful of aging holdouts, too few to continue."

"You're not protecting your people, you're destroying them. Can't you see that?" Athena questioned, her tone much more calm than it had been at first.

"I'm afraid you're the shortsighted one here. I'm simply keeping them safe and untouched from the war above. The real dangers are the rebels and insurgents who insist on risking all of our lives just to die out there in the wastes. If they weren't trying to throw our lives away like that, we could go back to the peaceful life we once had. Everyone would be happy again."

"The rebels are upset because you lied to them about the outside." The blonde pointed out.

"They have to understand that we did that to keep them from going outside and getting killed. To keep them from making the same mistake our generation did when we were at their age. Some of us already lost loved ones out there long ago. We won't lose anymore today." The Overseer stated firmly. Naruto could see the desperation in his eyes. The redhead actually felt sorry for the man. He was really only trying to do what was best for the Vault as a whole, even if some of his actions were questionable.

"I believe I have the solution to the Vault's problems." Athena stated.

"To fix what you started? Go ahead and humor me." The Overseer said skeptically.

"The rebels are right. You need to open the Vault."

"Oh, do I now? What makes you think you know how better to protect this Vault?" He questioned, clearly not believing that Athena knew what she was talking about.

"You can't even keep your security in line. They're planning to raid the rebels." Athena told him. She had heard a few security guards talking about raiding them and killing a few as an example to the rest.

"Dammit, I told them I won't let this degenerate into violence again! The Vault simply can't take the instability anymore! But maybe you're right. They simply can't stand the pressure anymore, and now the purity and perfection of my Vault is crumbling all around me."

"Humanity isn't about pure genetics. It's about never giving up hope, even now."

"I wish I could share your optimism. But I suppose you have a point, in your blathering way. My way won't save our Vault's mission. But if I let them contact the outside world, I might be able to save its inhabitants. But I'm not the one to lead them in that. I would suggest Amata but it is clear that she shows no interest in leading the Vault. I will hold an election for the next Overseer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an election to set up." The Overseer finished, dismissing them.

"Well, let's go tell Amata the news, shall we?" Naruto said with a slight grin receiving a nod from his companions. The Overseer glanced up just in time to see them exiting the room.

'_Wait a second. Since when were those two there? How could I have not noticed them? Damn author.' _The man thought to himself before resuming the election set up.

The group quickly made their way to the living quarters, seeing Amata in the same spot as before.

"So, what happened?" Amata asked eagerly.

"Your father has agreed to open the door for trading. He also stepped down as Overseer, and is setting up the election for the next right now." Athena explained.

"That's great! Thank you so much for your help, I don't know what we would have done without you! Now, I have an important question to ask you." Amata said with a small bit of hesitation towards the end.

"What is it?" Athena asked curiously.

"I... I want to come with you. I might not know really anything about the outside, but I still wanted to come along with you. Anything's better than wasting my life down here." Everyone was taken aback by the question, especially Athena.

"I don't see why not." She said after a while.

"Great! Before we go, I need to know one thing. Who are those two behind you?" She asked while pointing at Naruto and Fawkes, who she had somehow not noticed until now.

"The huge mutant is Fawkes. We're going to be seeing a lot mor of his brethren on the outside, but don't expect them to be as friendly as him. The one in the power armor is Naruto. I don't really know that much about him but I do know that he is a friend." She introduced them. Amata was still a bit wary of them, especially Fawkes as she had never seen a super mutant before, but still nodded. After introductions were finished, the group of four ascended a staircase into the atrium before entering the room which held the Vault door. With one last glance towards the Vault, they exited through the same old wooden door. They heard the massive steel door close behind them, which would be the final time they would ever hear it open or close.

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><p><strong>AN: Finally, I'm done with another chapter. What did you think? This is actually the longest chapter I've ever typed on this site, coming in at 6,372 words. In this chapter, we have a bit of back story on how exactly Naruto joined the Enclave, a little bit of his relationship with Autumn which I will elaborate on further in the future, the Trouble on The Homefront quest, and Amata joining their group. I decided to have her join because I am thinking of adding her to the harem. If you want her to join or not, tell me in a review. Just to let you know, this fic will span all of the DLC's and I am also thinking of including some mods. In the next chapter, we have Underworld and Reilly's Rangers, which should be interesting to write. Also, I am so sorry for not updating my other two stories recently. I've gotten writers block for the Victorious crossover but I have about 3,500 words typed for the GTA crossover.  
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**Overall, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to leave me nice, long reviews telling me what you liked or disliked about this chapter. It helps out a lot.**


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